


What I'm Looking For

by LegoTea



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Commitment, F/M, Happy Ending, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 00:22:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14032092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegoTea/pseuds/LegoTea
Summary: After spending the most awesome night in his life with Gamora for the first time, Peter isn't sure what to do when she has second thoughts and doubts his commitment.





	What I'm Looking For

Peter Quill woke up wearing nothing but the biggest smile.

Gamora was nestled in his arms, and the feeling was better than he ever thought it would be. It was amazing how much more it meant to him being with someone he cared about, and had known for a while.  She had put her trust in him last night, and he made sure she enjoyed it. That level of intimacy they already shared made their time together, joined as one, all the more mind blowing. It was just as exhilarating as the times they fought side by side, moving as fluidly as when he’d fired off shots and she’d sliced and diced baddies.

Gamora had pulled him into her room not long after the battle. She complained that his bunk was too small and uncomfortable as she unzipped his pants, and he lost all ability to argue with her. And now, he was _waking up next to her_. He couldn’t care less where they were, just as long as he was with her.

He had thought taking things slow, even last night, would be near impossible, but it was well worth the wait.  

To put it as an amazing night was an understatement. It might have been the effects of not having had any sex in months, but Peter suspected it was something else. He didn’t know what was the best part: Gamora threading her hands through his hair as he licked her to completion, how she guided him inside as they gazed at each other with so much intensity, it was almost too much. Or when she wrapped her arms and legs around him, crying his name toward the ceiling, in his ear, against his neck as she came again, and again, bringing him with her into sweet oblivion the third time. Or fourth, or fifth. He was a little pleased that he lost track of how many times he pleasured her.

And now, he was cuddling her as she lay on top of him. He nuzzled the top of her head lightly as he breathed in the scent of her hair and he sighed, watching her sleep. He could wake up like this forever, or at least for as long as he lived. It didn't seem like a life sentence, or something weird and scary. He was a lucky man.

He felt her stirring, and his heart began to race. Usually this was the part where he’d be making up some excuse to take off, but he was excited to talk to her again.

And okay, yeah, maybe do some other stuff.

“Hi,” he murmured, kissing her forehead. “Sleep well?”

“Oh. Uh, yes,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. She sat up and rummaged around the bed, looking for her clothes, tugging on her pants as Peter sat up and leaned on his elbow watching her get dressed.

“Looks like we’ve finally got some downtime, so I was thinking maybe we could stay here a few days,” he said, mostly to fill the heavy silence in the room, save for her hasty search for clothing. “Maybe we could go on one of those local tours,” he added as she cursed, tripping over one of her boots as she slid it on and slipped her shirt over her head. “Heard there’s some bigass alien vulture that shows up and tries to carry off the tourists, but with your sword and my blasters, we could definitely give it a run for its money.”

She looked at him like she suddenly realized he was there, and she tossed her hair back. Peter got a little lost watching it ripple and move. “I can’t, Peter. You go. I’ve got to help Rocket stock up on supplies, and I was thinking about getting Mantis to a doctor. We don’t know if she’s vaccinated, or if she’d had her translator chip updated.” Gamora twisted her hair up into a bun, and then looked at Peter as he stared at her, dumbfounded.

Her eyes darted to the floor, with his clothes still strewn all over it. “Thank you, Peter. That was.... nice.”

She turned and left Peter lying tangled up in her sheets, alone and confused as all hell.

Huh. That was weird. And awkward. Totally not how he thought their first morning after would go.

He lay in her bed for awhile, wondering if it would be too weird to join her at breakfast. Finally, he decided to go ahead and face the music.

 

\---

 

When he went out to the common area, Gamora was gone. So were Rocket and Mantis. Drax, who was still eating breakfast, told Peter the other three had gone into the market to shop for supplies, and Gamora planned to take Mantis for a health examination.

“Cool,” Peter said, rubbing the back of his head. “That’s cool. Very, very cool.”

“It’s not _cool_ ,” Drax said, glancing disapprovingly at Groot, who was trying to jump into his cup, “It’s merely practical.”

“Well, you know what?” Peter said feeling antsy, “We should do something too.”

“I am Groot?”

“Anything,” Peter said, though he still had no idea what Groot was saying.

They walked through the local market as Peter kept glancing around, keeping a lookout for the familiar flash of Gamora’s hair. Groot rode on his shoulder. He had been acting more affectionate toward Peter lately, as evidenced by him holding out the earbud he’d been clutching and stretching it toward Peter’s ear with a hopeful expression.

“Sorry, buddy, maybe another time,” Peter said, preventing Groot from shoving the bud into his ear.

Groot looked down, and Drax glared at Peter.

“Oh, all right.” Peter realized he couldn’t say no to Groot’s sad face. He plucked the earbud carefully from Groot, then lifted the previously dangling earbud to hand to Groot, so they could both listen to the song. Instantly, Peter recognized that it was one of the few songs on the Zune he couldn’t stand, but Groot clearly liked the tune. Peter didn’t want to upset him, so he kept walking, trying to ignore the irritating beat in his ear with a repetitive synth sound.

He needed to take his mind off that racket. “Drax,” he said.

“Yes?”

Peter had to take a moment to gather his thoughts, especially with the awful song nearly ripping through his eardrum. “Did Gamora say anything else this morning?”

“You don’t have to shout. I can hear you perfectly fine at this distance.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Peter hastily turned down the volume on his Zune, and Groot pouted. “You pick the music, I pick the volume. It’s only fair,” he said, then turned to Drax again as they weaved their way through the market. “Well, did she?”

“No. Only that she needed to go shopping as quickly as possible, and that she needed to take Mantis to a medical expert. I am not sure why. She looks perfectly healthy.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a pity the expert cannot help her with her face -”

“- Be nice, Drax,” Peter quickly said, for the dozenth time. “Anyway, I was, uh, just wondering if Gamora said anything about _me_.”

Drax looked like he was trying very hard to restrain himself from shoving patrons that kept getting in his way. “Why?”

“Because.... Well....” Peter took a deep breath, then leaned as far away from Groot so he could to whisper to Drax, “Gamora and I slept together last night.”

Drax looked unimpressed. “I know.”

Peter gaped at him. “You do?”

“Yes. I asked Rocket to switch rooms with me, because I could hear the most unpleasant sounds through the wall.”

Peter blushed a bit, and was grateful that Mantis had insisted on tucking Groot in on the far side of the ship. “You could hear us? Did we sound good? Who was louder, me or Gamora? ‘Cause I think I was pulling some of my best move – no, I mean,” he set his mouth in a thin line. “We should’ve found a hotel or something. But when she asked me to join her in her room, I didn’t think she....”

“She would return your lustful feelings?” Drax finished. “I suppose I was wrong about her earlier.”

“Well, maybe you weren’t,” Peter said, sighing. “She was acting all weird this morning.”

“Perhaps she realized the horrible mistake she made.”

“Hey! That’s _me_ you’re talking about.”

Drax just looked at him, and Peter sighed again.

“I dunno. I thought maybe things would be great between us, once we hooked up. _She_ seemed pretty into the idea last night, I mean -”

“- Please, Quill, no more.”

“Oh, right.” Peter glanced at Groot. “Forgot myself, buddy.”

“No, not for _his_ sake. The less I hear about your intimate acts, the better.”  
  
“Hey, _you_ couldn’t stop going on about your parents when they.... uh, made you.”

“I did. Because they were my parents. You two are not.”

“Noted.” Peter stopped in the middle of the surging crowd to stand up on his toes and look around for Gamora. No dice. He looked at Drax, who also stood before him, looking very unenthused. “C’mon, let’s do some shopping. Maybe get you a new knife? Some ingredients for cooking?” Peter grinned at his next idea. “I should get something for Gamora, smooth things over if she’s still feeling weird about last night.”

“I will do anything you want, just to make you stop referring to that,” Drax said, and Groot grinned happily at Peter in encouragement.

“Okay,” Peter said, squaring his shoulders and flicking the Zune to a song both he and Groot liked, “Operation Best Boyfriend Ever is a go!”

 

\---

 

“Gamora! I got you something,” he said as soon as he saw her on the ship again.

He nearly shoved a crudely wrapped package into her hands, and she stared down at it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Open it and you’ll find out,” he said, practically giddy. He was feeling much better after wandering around the market with Drax and Groot.

As she began to pull apart the wrapping paper, he shifted onto one foot, and then the other. “So, I was at the market earlier today and wanted to get you something, like maybe perfume, but then I thought, y’know, Gamora isn’t into that type of thing, and it’s not like you need to smell better than you already do.”

She paused, and glanced up at him.

“That came out creepier than I meant it to,” he said. “Anyway, I was thinking, what does she need? So, uh, yeah,” he was relieved when she finally finished ripping open the wrapping paper so he could stop babbling for a moment.

Gamora held up the utility belt, long, black, and sleek, with a holster that was a perfect fit for her sword.

She stared down at it for a long, long moment, and Peter’s breath caught in his throat.

Finally, she said, “This looks expensive.” She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t steal it, did you?”

“No, honest! I did talk down the price to a third off, but when I tried going lower, the dude started suggesting I throw in one of my ears, and.…”

She let out a small snort, but he wasn’t sure what that meant. “Thank you, Peter.”

He sighed in relief, but when she left to check on Mantis, who had been administered like, twenty vaccination shots and was curled up in a ball on her bunk, Peter started to wonder if Operation Best Boyfriend Ever would ever actually work.

 

\---

 

Long story short, it wasn’t looking good.

After another mission together, he tried dancing with Gamora in the kitchen, but she was clearly not having it. She didn’t shove his hands off her waist, but stared at him blankly once he tried swaying with her. He backed off hastily.

“Is it something about me?” he asked, leaning down to sniff his shirt collar.

“No. I.... I made a mistake the other night, Quill.”

“Oh,” he said softly. “Was I really that bad?”

She turned around so he was facing her back, and when she spoke, it was so quietly he almost couldn’t hear her. “No. That was the best night of my life.”

“Really? Yes!” He pumped his fist.

“I know you’re doing that funny thing with your hand.”

He lowered his hand slowly, and said, “I mean, I was thinking the same thing!" He couldn’t help puffing out his chest.

She turned around. “That doesn't change anything.”

He deflated right away.

“I know you, Quill. Remember, on Knowhere?”

“How could I forget?” he asked, rubbing his throat where she’d held her knife.

She shook her head. “I realized, when I woke up, that you’ll move on, like always. I don’t....” She glanced toward the floor. “I don’t want to get hurt.”

“But it’s different this time,” he said, though he had to reign himself in to keep from taking a few steps forward and wrapping his arms around her. “Gamora, I think I’m in….” He bit the rest of his declaration back at the last second. He didn’t want to scare her away. “I haven’t felt something like this about anyone, ever since Knowhere.”

“Before or after I held a blade to your throat?” Gamora asked. But her smile didn’t go unnoticed.

“I wanna make this work,” Peter said firmly. “I want to be with you, for good.”

She tossed her head back, and crossed her arms over her chest. “How many women have you flirted with since we left Xandar?”

“None,” he said automatically.

She narrowed her eyes.

_Shit, wrong answer._

She held up her hand, and ticked off one finger. “What about the Horusian woman on our last trip to Xandar?”

“I was just asking for directions, remember?”

She ticked off another finger. “The Krylorian woman at the Pandorian bar?”

Peter shrugged. “Don’t even remember her.”

“You wouldn’t,” Gamora said, rolling her eyes. She ticked off the rest of her fingers as she fired off three more women.

“I was trying to get a bargain on fuel, she just wanted an autograph, and you _know_ that last one didn’t count because it was for a job!”

Gamora lowered her hand. “How would you feel if I flirted with someone in front of you?”

Peter thought about it. She was always professional and distant with others outside the group, but one time during a fuel stop, this huge Balwan dude was eyeing her, practically having sex with her, with his stare. Gamora either didn't recognize what was happening, or she ignored it as she transferred the units, but Peter was _fully_ aware. He had threatened the guy after Gamora left. Okay, he actually just glared at him and then ran out of the shop. But he was starting to imagine how he would’ve felt if Gamora _responded_ to the Balwan’s advances, made Peter deflate.

“Oh,” he said.

She nodded. “See? What if it _doesn't_ work between us? And maybe not because of the flirting, but something else? What then? I don't want to break up the group if something irreparable happens between us. Do you?”

He wanted to say that wouldn’t happen, but instead said, “No. I don't want to end up splitting the group.” 

“Neither do I,” she said softly, and left him standing by himself in the kitchen.

 

\---

 

It was weird.

He was at a bar for the first time in what felt like forever, trying to get Mantis acclimated to ‘normal’ life (Gamora and Rocket had opted to stay on the Milano with Groot), and so far, things were going fairly well.

‘Well’ being the operative term.

“Are you feeling all right, Quill?” Drax asked before downing a mug that was about as large as his head. He slammed the mug down on the table, nodding appreciatively before patting Peter on the arm. “You seem.... sad.”

“He’s not sad,” Mantis said, sitting next to Drax, her own drink still filled to the brim. “Just lost.”

“Perhaps Quill would like to speak with the Kallusian over there.” Drax pointed at her helpfully. She caught him pointing at her, and hid her face. Peter struggled to keep from doing the same thing.

“No, thanks,” he muttered, spinning his empty glass.

“The A’askvariian, over there, then,” Drax pressed him, pointing to another woman in a different direction. She glared at him murderously.

Peter slowly lowered Drax’s hand. “Uh uh, we are _not_ getting thrown out of another bar!”

“He doesn’t want to talk to any other women,” Mantis said, then sipped her drink through a straw that curved about ten times. When she finally drank in the liquid, she gasped in delight. Then, after calming down, she said, whispering loudly as she leaned closer to Drax, “Peter only wishes to speak with Gamora.”

“Uh,” Peter said, shifting uncomfortable in his booth across from them, “can you feel that without touching people now?”

“No,” she said, blinking as she turned to face him. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Why don’t you speak with her now?” Drax said to Peter.

He sighed. “I just.... don’t think she wants to talk to me.”

“Why else would she be here, then?”

Peter snapped his head around so quickly, it was a small wonder he didn’t get whiplash.

She was there, dressed in her red coat as she rested her hand on her sword hilt. She made her way through the bar cautiously, like she was on guard, and Peter thought she would ignore him and head over to where the bartenders shook their concoctions.

But she headed toward the Guardians’ table, and his heart began to beat double time.

“Gamora! I’m so glad you came,” Mantis said, smiling as she slid her drink with the five foot long straw dangling out of it toward the edge of the table. “Would you like to try some?”

“No thanks,” Gamora said, but Peter was heartened to see her smiling. Then, she turned to look at him, and her smile faded.

His heart sank.

“Could you two please give us a minute?” she said, directing her attention back toward the opposite side of the booth.

Drax stared at her. “Do you think we have the ability to turn back time? I assure you, neither of us can do that.”

“I will go with you to fill up your cup, Drax,” Mantis said, nudging him to get out of the booth. After a moment of consideration, he obliged her, and he sauntered off as she trailed him, glancing at Peter with a hopeful expression.

“Wow,” Peter said, still playing around with his glass as Gamora settled in their previous spot. “I didn’t think Mantis would be the one to get the hint first.”

Gamora also looked surprised. “Me too.”

An awkward silence fell on them for a few seconds as Peter struggled to come up with something to say.

Finally, he began with, “Look, Gamora, I-” when Mantis ran back up to the table, apologizing as she took her drink, then scurried away with it.

“Well,” Gamora said, shaking her head as she got more comfortable in her seat, “I guess we better get used to that.”

Peter looked up at her, and noticed her smile was back.

“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.

“I didn’t come here for that.”

“So, what is this?”

“This what?” Gamora asked him.

Peter loved her, that much he knew for sure, but he was starting to get tired of being jerked around. _Huh,_ he thought. _Maybe this is what all those women felt like_.

He finally set his glass aside. “This.... Whatever this is. Is it a test, or something? Because if it is, I gotta be up front with you: I am _not_ a good test taker.”

“You aren't,” she agreed, then did something Peter definitely didn’t expect. She got up and slid in the booth right next to him.

He scooted over, staring at her in awe.

“I realized something,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face. Peter was mesmerized by it. He always was. “I can't keep pushing people away to save myself. And I hate seeing you like this.”

“Really?” he asked, snapping out of his trance. “You want to try this?”

She nodded.

“And you’re not just saying this to make me feel better?”

She took a deep breath and then let it all out in a rush. “No. It’s because I’ve been feeling the way you’ve looked for the past few weeks.”

Then, she did something that surprised him even more: she reached out and took his hand in hers. She was full of surprises. It was one of the many reasons he was so in love with her.

Peter beamed, and squeezed her hand. He sat there with her as they talked, held hands, and watched Drax get in an arm wrestling match with the A’askvariian woman he’d pointed at.

As Mantis cheered him on, Peter turned to look at Gamora, wondering how he got so lucky.

She turned to look at him, and, suddenly knowing what Mantis had meant, he could suddenly tell, just by looking in Gamora’s eyes, that she also wanted this.... _them_.... to last forever.

And it wasn’t weird at all.


End file.
